Lady of White
by Coralsolstice
Summary: What happens when Will Solace allows a goddess from another pantheon into Camp Half-Blood? She claims to be acquainted with Mr. D, but since he's gone to Olympus for Zeus knows how long, it falls to Chiron to entertain her until his return.
1. Missing: A Two Metre Tall Cyclops

**I was inspired by the Kane Chronicles. More specifically, the idea of several pantheons existing side by side. I also recently came across a myth where Dionysus- well, we'll get to that. **

**Care to guess who the girl is in mythology? The white dress and some of her last dialogue is a clue. Her pantheon is well known.**

**Please tell me if you find any mistakes. I'm not very sure of capitalisation. I think that I've fixed most of it, but still. Also any advice on improving writing style would be ideal! **

**The story is written in Will Solace's POV. **

**Thank you for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it. **

* * *

I was walking back from school when I saw the cyclops.

He was an ugly thing, even for a monster. He was about two metres tall, with abnormally long arms. He wore a tattered loin cloth that I wished had fewer holes. He carried a mean-looking wooden club that had some suspicious stains on it.

He came out of a side street and just stepped in front of me. I was about ninety percent sure that I'd have to sacrifice Miss Book's math homework and run for it, but he flat out ignored me. The cyclops crossed the street, taking awkward lumbering steps that shook the earth every time his feet made contact with the ground.

I could have killed him from there. I had my bow with me; the street was deserted so I had a clear shot. But I didn't.

Now you see, the thing about us demigods? If trouble doesn't find us, we go looking for trouble. Even if we don't especially want it, strictly speaking. It's instinct.

So I followed him. I figured anything strong enough to mask the scent of eau de demigod was worth looking into.

The cyclops had made a turn and was walking down a parallel street when I caught up with him. I took care to stay at least a few metres back, just in case. I had my bow ready, so I was reasonably confident I could take him out before he took me out.

I found it a bit weird that weren't any mortals outside. Sure, I didn't know anybody from my school who lived in this area, but it wasn't the only school in New York, was it? That was when I realised something wasn't right.

The cyclops made sharp turn into an alley and disappeared from view. I jogged to close the distance. I slowly put my head around the corner, half convinced that it was a trap.

Before I could process anything, a gust of hot air hit me in the face, filling my eyes with dust. It burned like someone had blown pepper at me. And believe me, I knew what that felt like, thanks to a certain Travis Stoll.

I doubled over, desperately trying to get my eyes open. I panicked, and expected the cyclops to finish me off while I was blinded. Tears streamed out of my eyes. I rubbed them roughly, envisioning my bloody demise, but that just aggravated the burning sensation.

I was about to give up and run for it while praying that I didn't get hit by a car when I felt someone place a hand over my eyes. Thankfully, it wasn't a monster.

It didn't feel like one, anyway. The hand was soft, and pleasantly cool. I heard a feminine, childlike voice murmur a word I couldn't make out, and suddenly the pain disappeared.

The hand was withdrawn. I hesitated, afraid of what I would see if I opened my eyes, but eventually I risked a peek.

A girl of about twelve or thirteen was standing in front of me. She had tanned, light brown skin. Her black hair was done up in a loose ponytail. It was messy, like beauty was the last thing on her mind. I'd seen Athena kids like that.

For the briefest second, I thought I saw stars in her eyes. Not the cartoony kind, like the kind you see space pictures of. Otherworldly and glowing. Then I blinked and it was gone. I wrote it off as the after effects of whatever had assaulted my eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

I realised I'd been staring at her like a creep for about twenty seconds. She was probably scared.

But she'd healed me, hadn't she? She couldn't be normal.

"Yeah...I'm fine." She continued staring at me, and I scrambled for something to see. "Uh, did you see like, a monster around here?"

I wasn't sure where I was going with this. The fact that I was still alive probably meant that this girl wasn't out to get me. But a demigod couldn't be too careful.

She smiled at me, and played with the edge of her knee-length pure white dress. "There are monsters everywhere."

"...what?" She had a strange accent. It was vaguely British, but sounded like she'd learned from someone who forced themselves to speak like that.

"There are monsters everywhere. You need to choose your battles."

"Okay..." This girl was officially not a mortal. Or maybe she was crazy.

Like I was for still sticking around.

With my luck though; she was probably some ancient person from Greek mythology specially come back from Tartarus just to make my life miserable.

"You are brave, but slightly overconfident." She concluded, looking me up and down with a superior gaze.

I felt slightly self conscious. Who was this girl? I mentally ran through the names of all the goddesses I knew. It wasn't a very long list.

Artemis didn't look like this in her preferred form. That much I knew. And Athena appeared as a young woman. Hestia wouldn't have that aloof look on her face.

"Child of the sun." She said authoritatively, suddenly training her eyes on me and frowning.

I involuntarily snapped to attention. How did she know about my dad? Red flags were going up in my head, accompanied by a public service announcement that was screaming 'GET OUT OF THERE YOU FOOL'.

She just looked amused. She didn't appear to be aiming anything hostile at me. I hoped that was a good thing.

"I see you are curious. You may refer to me as...Sara. Yes. That will do."

Sara? That sounded innocent enough. Not very Greek-y. Then I remembered Percy telling the Camp how Procrustes had gone around calling himself 'Crusty' in L.A.

I was probably screwed. Might as well face the music.

Music. Dad would have appreciated that. I laughed internally, though in a slightly maniac fashion.

"Sara? I-is that your real name? Short for anything?" I asked nervously.

She sighed, like she was having second thoughts about the name. "I appreciate curiosity. But it should be invoked only at opportune moments."

"You saying I should shut up?"

"Yes."

"Will do."

"Good boy. Now tell me, can you direct me towards...Camp Half-Blood?"


	2. Chiron Gets His Tail in a Twist

**Please review if you have time. Even if you don't like it, please tell me why. Be brutal. I seriously want to improve, not just make the same mistakes over and over. **

**Once again, do you want to guess who Sara really is?**

* * *

I didn't want to take her to Camp. Obviously. I didn't know who or what she was. And more likely than not, she had something to do with the cyclops disappearing.

I considered just walking away. She must have guessed my intentions, because she latched onto my shirt, and stared into my eyes.

When I saw it, I had to force myself not to run. In her eyes were tiny galaxies of sparkling stars, continuously moving and spinning. They emitted an intense light, like the kind when gods assumed their true forms. My eyes started to sting, and I blinked hard and looked away.

She let go of my shirt, and smiled. Her eyes looked normal now, but I was still freaked out. She was definitely powerful. I took a deep breath.

"Camp, huh? It's kind of far."

She frowned, her thin eyebrows knitting in frustration. I was seriously pushing mu luck. "I will walk."

"Uh…but I won't." Camp was miles away.

"Can we not take the bus?"

I had enough money. Mom would understand. Probably. I hoped. Besides, the Camp borders wouldn't let in a monster, right?

Only…I had a feeling she wasn't a monster. Her touch had been extremely gentle. And the thing with her eyes- I'd felt weak at the knees. Something at the back of my mind told me to not defy her.

But her gaze was also calm and understanding. Like she had centuries of experience dealing with people, and knew how to take care of me. Sort of like the nice teacher you had in elementary school.

"Bus it is then." I said weakly.

* * *

I kept my hand on my bow throughout the ride. It was a gift from one of the Hephaestus cabin campers for my birthday last year. The bow collapsed into a fancy looking watch. I'd always wondered whether it would ever run out of batteries, but I was scared to ask. The Hephaestus cabin tended to be very sensitive about their creations.

Nothing interesting happened. But I didn't take an easy breath until we got off at the stop. It was around five minutes walk to Half-Blood Hill.

The path was flat, and deserted. There wasn't much around. The fading rays of the sun cast long shadows behind us, exaggerating our proportions.

'Sara' spent the time walking with a slight spring in her step. She hummed a happy, bouncing tune as she moved, with a small, anticipating smile on her lips.

She seemed to be in a good mood. I just had to ask. I blame my ADHD.

"So, uh, Sara?" I ventured.

"Yes, child?"

It was a little weird getting called 'child' by someone who looked younger than me, but it goes with being a demigod.

"Since we're not doing anything else, why do you need to go to Camp?"

"I do not need to. I simply wish to."

"Okay, why do you wish to?"

"I wanted to visit an old friend."

"Chiron?" I asked, wondering exactly how 'old' she meant.

"No, though he's delightful too." She chuckled and looked towards the distance, like she was remembering something that happened long ago.

I decided to stop asking questions. If she wanted to give me a straight up answer, she would have already. That didn't stop me from trying to figure it out though.

I was in deep thought all the way till Half-Blood Hill. It rose up with a gentle slope. Orange sunlight filtered through the leaves of Thalia's tree, making it look like someone had strung up a million gold ornaments among the leaves. Peleus the dragon was lounging underneath. He opened one yellow eye and snorted out a gust of steam as we passed.

It was probably a good sign that he didn't react to Sara.

Sara stopped a few steps away from Peleus, and surveyed the Camp with an impressed look on her face. She let out an 'ooh!' of appreciation.

"Very nice!" She exclaimed.

I felt a sense of pride. Camp Half-Blood was my home after all.

"Thanks."

She continued down the hill, grabbing my wrist. "Direct me to Chiron." Her expression was full of purpose, with a touch of excitement.

"Uh...sure."

We found Chiron on the Big House porch. He was in centaur form. His pure white horse half rivalled the colour of Sara's dress. His bushy eyebrows were scrunched up in concentration as he read something off a clipboard. I waved, but he didn't notice. He was far too absorbed in whatever it was he was doing.

Sara ran up to him. He raised his eyes, and looked at her questioningly before seeing me.

"Ah, Will! You're back early."

"Yeah, about that. Sara here-"

"Sara?" His expression changed into his infamous 'no-it-can't-be' face. I really hated it when he did that. Especially since he usually followed up with the 'I-mustn't-scare-them' face and refused to say anything.

She joined her palms together, and lowered her eyes for a second. "Greetings, Chiron."

His eyes widened, and he completely forgot me. I was left standing there with a really confused expression as he hurriedly opened the door and gestured for Sara to come inside.

"This is certainly unexpected, my lady. I'm afraid Lord Dionysus isn't present. He's returned to Olympus for a while."

Sara shrugged and climbed the porch steps. "I have come all this way. I shall wait."

"Won't you be missed?"

"I have left someone in charge. Besides, it is only march." She stopped and looked over her shoulder, straight at me.

I felt that strange feeling again, the mix of fear, respect, and security. I unconsciously stood straight. Sara gave me a warm smile. She raised a hand in gratitude.

"Thank you for your guidance, Will Solace."

I realised I'd never told her my name, though I had asked for hers. She must have seen my shock, because she shook her head in an amused way.

"Sleep well, Will Solace. Good night." She stepped into the Big House, and disappeared into the shadows.

Chiron went after her, an anxious look on his face.

I decided to spend the night at Camp. Hopefully, my mother wouldn't register me as a missing person.


	3. Mr D Displays Marvellous Tact

**Short chapter. Thanks if you've read this far. Also, shout out to Selene's Child and Clefspear for reviewing!**

**I didn't intend to post this now, I wanted to do it later in the story, but I thought it fitted better at this point.**

**As before, please tell me what you think, be brutal, etc, etc. **

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

I had a dream that night.

I was standing in a lush green forest. I could see drops of moisture on the leaves, sparkling with a reddish hue in the light of the setting sun. A little further off, I could see a clearing. Music was drifting towards me, a slow, twanging melody that rose and fell with incredible beauty. I felt longing, but I didn't know for what. It drew me closer. I sort of floated over the grassy, leaf-strewn forest floor, getting closer to the clearing.

In a few seconds, I was at the edge of the trees. There were four people, sitting in the grass, all radiating godly power. Two women and two men. Three of them were listening to one of the women play a long, stringed instrument. That was the music I'd heard earlier.

The women were beautiful, alluring. They both had waist length, dark black hair that fell in perfect waves down their backs. The multitude of golden bangles and bracelets were dazzling to watch; they reflected the light, but also seemed to possess a glow of their own. They were wearing a kind of draped outfit, the shining silk hanging in graceful folds. No makeup adorned their faces, but their eyes were intelligent and bewitchingly dark, giving them an elegance no lipstick could have.

One of the men was dressed similarly to the women, albeit in a more masculine style. The cloth was fastened at his waist using a gilded thread. Golden necklaces adorned his bare chest, glowing just the women's jewellery was. He wore a crown atop his head, a massive thing that looked far too heavy for me to even pick up. It was studded with gems and pearls, and peacock feather stuck out one side. The entire ensemble would have looked ridiculous on me, but on him it was simply stunning.

The other man, I realised with a start, was Mr D- Dionysus. He was dressed in traditional Greek clothes, but had the same sleepy, bored expression he'd always had at Camp. In one hand, he held glass of purple wine. With the other, he tapped out a lazy rhythm on the damp grass, and bobbed his head slightly to the beat. He was sitting on what looked like a genuine tiger skin rug.

The woman finished her concert, and lowered her hands. They had orange designs on them, curving, tangled wines and geometric shapes. The colour contrasted with her fair skin, but not in a bad way. She looked towards Mr D; and made a small motion with her head, as if asking for his opinion.

Mr D lowered his glass and nodded. "That was good."

"I thank you, Dionysus."

It was weird, they'd both been speaking in different languages, Mr D in ancient Greek, and the woman in something else, but I'd understood them both. Dream translator, maybe?

The other man shifted slightly. "I hope you will heed my warning. Greece will fall if you take the problem lightly."

"You say yourself that it will not occur for centuries yet. Why worry ourselves now?" Mr D said, displaying his typical lack of responsibility.

Their words gave me a headache. Couldn't these flash-back dreams have a sort of, I don't know, _usage_ translator as well? I suddenly got an image of Mr D referring to these people as 'my homies' and decided maybe it wasn't that bad.

The other man sat back, apparently resigned. "As you wish. Beware your neighbours, Dionysus."

Neighbours? I realised they must have been talking about the defeat of Greece at the hands of Rome. And if that was centuries into the future...I felt dizzy. Exactly how far back in time was I seeing?

The woman who had been playing the instrument spoke. "We would offer to help, but our laws are stricter than yours."

"I know." Mr D replied. He glanced at the man, and commented with a glance at the other woman, "Don't you get bored with just her?"

I knew it was the wrong thing to say a moment after the words left his lips. The two women's faces changed into expressions of pure rage. They didn't seem very beautiful any more. Their godly auras intensified, and their eyes grew wide with ferocity. One of them raised their palms, and a ball of light formed on top of it. A miniature sun, blazing with blinding light.

I was half sure Mr D was about to get vaporized by two very angry ladies when the other man put a hand on their shoulders. The one with the ball of light looked at him, her anger subsiding. He nodded and smiled. She reluctantly put out her weapon. The other woman was still glaring daggers at Mr D.

Mr D looked uncomfortable. "I apologize. Perhaps I've outstayed my welcome in your realm."

"I and my wife will not hold it against you."

Mr D had said that in front of his wife. I just couldn't believe it. I wondered how a god of wine could get drunk. Because how else would he have thought it was a good idea to say something like that? I surmised that the two woman were sisters. They did share a resemblance, and a mere friend wouldn't have jumped to the other's defence like that.

The guy's wife seemed pacified, but the other woman was still visibly agitated. She stood up, her silk clothes rustling. She bowed in the direction of the man and woman, with joined palms. She turned to Mr D with an air of disdain.

"I will forgive you for this instance, but know this. My impression of you is marred."

I personally wouldn't have minded the insult itself, but her tone was so harsh, so full of authority that I felt MY knees tremble. Mr D though, just waved a hand nonchalantly. He was seriously pushing it.

The woman left, her long dark hair flowing behind her. I noticed just how much her white clothes stood out in the green background. They were the purest white.

That was when I realised. The woman was Sara.

Sara was a goddess.


	4. Enter Malcolm

The next morning, Sara was sitting at the table with Chiron. She was watching us with a sort of mild fascination. She was twirling a piece a lock of hair that had come loose from her ponytail, focusing on another cabin every few minutes. She was muttering under her breath. I just hoped she wasn't being rude.

Everyone had noticed her of course. They were whispering among themselves, stealing glances in her direction. Sara gave no indication that she was aware of any of this, and simply continued doing her thing. Chiron was talking to her, but she seemed intent on observing us, and brushed him off with single syllable answers.

Towards the end of the meal, Chiron stood up and cleared his throat. The buzz of conversation in the dining pavilion quickly died down as everyone turned to see who this new addition to Camp Half-Blood was. Because after all, what else would Chiron be making an announcement about in the morning?

The centaur spared a moment to make sure he had everybody's attention. He took a breath and looked at Sara. She waved a hand, giving him the go-ahead.

"Campers," Chiron started, "We will have a guest with us for a while." He glanced back at her for a second before resuming. "She's requested me to not reveal her complete identity, but know she is to be respected."

His tone was warning, and he looked pointedly at the Stoll brothers, who were having a whispered conversation. They didn't even bother blushing. I made a mental note to warn them about Sara.

Sara stood up, and I saw everyone lean slightly forward. She was strangely charismatic, like she was doing it on purpose. That annoyed me. Immortals always treated us like their playthings.

"You may call me Sara. I'll be sticking around until Diony- I mean, _Mr. D_ gets back," she said. "I hope we can get along until then." She sat back down. She smiled at anybody who kept looking at her, making them quickly divert their eyes.

"Well," Chiron said, "Let's get started with our day, shall we?"

-x-

I was at the archery range when Sara tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped, and my arrow sped of course. It embedded itself into a tree, making the satyr nearby yelp and dive for cover. He made a rude gesture at me before snapping the arrow in half and giving me a suggestive look.

I really didn't need a fight, so I turned away. I could have taken him. No, seriously!

"I apologise." Sara said.

I resisted the urge to say 'Of course you do'.

"Uh...do you need anything?" I asked.

"Not at the moment, no. I simply wished to see you!" She beamed at me, like she'd just done something amazing, before skipping -yes, skipping- off

I knew what I wanted to do. A visit to the Athena cabin was in order.

-x-

The Athena cabin was scary silent. I guess they were all either out training or studying or something. I didn't do quiet. It's just not me. So I received a few angry stares when I barged in. But the Athena kids were always mad at someone or the other, so I didn't make much of it.

I spotted Malcolm trying to hide behind his desk, so I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside, waving a cheery goodbye to his siblings. They gave each other looks; which I translated as-

"It's your turn to save him."

"No it's not. I did it last week."

"Let's just leave him."

But I'm not an Aphrodite kid. So don't take my word for that. In any case, they turned their backs as I forced Malcolm out the door. As soon as we were outside the cabin, he turned on me.

"What is it with you, Solace?" He appeared to be resisting the urge to stamp his foot. "You always, ALWAYS bother me."

"That's 'cause you're real smart." I said, figuring flattery was the way to go.

He seemed pacified. "Thanks. What do you want?"

"I'd do the whole fake wounded thing and accuse you of thinking that I only compliment you when I want something from you, but I really do need to know something."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Need?"

"Yep. You know Sara?"

"The little girl? Uh, yeah."

"She's a goddess."

"What the-" Malcolm caught himself. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive. And I need you to find out who she is."

He pulled on his index finger, something I'd come to recognize as a nervous habit. "Do you think you should? I mean, if she doesn't want to be known-"

"You're a Greek! She won't turn you into...uh, whatever she likes. Your mom would be offended."

"What difference does me being a Greek-"

I realised I hadn't told him that bit of information. "Oh, she's not Greek."

Malcolm looked truly fed up with me at that point. "Will. WILL." He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "Organize yourself. Tell me everything."

"I had a dream."

"Apollo kid dreams. Never good. Go on."

"It was really old, like...before Rome old." I said, recalling the conversation. "Mr. D was talking to these other gods- yeah, not Greek- and they were warning him about Rome and-"

"Point Will, point."

"Fine. Sara was in it."

"You have given me absolutely nothing to work with."

I'd forgotten how frustrating this kid could be. "She was playing an instrument." I snapped.

He ignored my irritation, and stroked his chin, his eyes unfocusing. Thought mode. "That could be something. What was it?"

"I don't know. And uh, she was wearing white then too, if that helps."

"White and possibly music..." He nodded his head, chewing on his lip. His eyes suddenly brightened. "I'll get back to you on this."

And just like that, without waiting for my reply, he ran back to the cabin.

Man, this leaving-Will-in-the-dust thing was getting old.


	5. Malcolm Figures It Out

**I'm not really sure I want to do this story anymore. I have great respect for this goddess, and I don't want to mess up. I don't know why, I just feel...insignificant? I mean, mythology often has more layers to it than the literal story. Messages, values, ideas all that. She's a part of something so much more than a few pretty stories. What do you think?**

* * *

I didn't see Malcolm again until dinner time. I was getting a little worried, because the rest of the Athena cabin was at their table, but he wasn't with them. Hopefully he hadn't done something stupid and gotten himself turned into whatever Sara liked turning mortals into.

Speaking of Sara, most people had pushed her presence to the back of their minds. Demigods tended to do that. And then we ended up regretting it later. She seemed content enough, though, silently observing from the table with Chiron.

Chiron was attempting to converse with her. She was more inclined to answer this evening, and replied to him with several sentences. I couldn't hear what she was saying through the din in the dining pavilion, but as Chiron didn't look worried, I didn't make much of it.

I had made the obligatory sacrifice to my dad and was about to start eating when I saw Malcolm near one of the pillars, looking a bit alarmed. His eyes were wide and panicked, casting nervous glances in Chiron and Sara's direction. His chest was moving a bit too fast for his breathing to be normal, and he was doing the index finger pulling again.

As I watched, he ran his eyes over the occupants of my table before finally meeting mine. Malcolm gestured urgently at me. I made a face at him. I was hungry!

He just fixed me with the annoyed expression all the Athena kids are so good at and tapped his foot impatiently. I sighed. It looked like I wouldn't be getting a decent dinner tonight.

* * *

Malcolm refused to speak until we were a good distance away from the noise of the pavilion. We were near the cabins before he finally turned around.

"Will," he started, "Tell me you didn't do anything stupid."

"Stupid?"

He exhaled in an irritated manner. "Yes, stupid. Like annoying her?"

"If by her you mean Sara, and I'm pretty sure you do, it would make no sense if you-"

"Point Will, point."

"No. Nothing at all. At least, I don't think so." I frowned at him. "Why? Did you find out who she was? Is it that bad?"

"She's-" He made a weird wheezing sound and for a second I was scared something divine had zapped him. But then he took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I got excited. It's...quite a lot."

"Would you like some water?" I suggested mockingly. "Just spit it out!"

"Ok, so at first I couldn't figure it out," Malcolm said, displaying his characteristic tendency to infuriate me by feeling the need to explain everything, "So I thought I'd work backwards, figure out who has connections to Mr.D."

"...and?"

"And then I found this myth that says Mr.D went around the world to spread the art of wine making. He went East, Will."

I had enough trouble with the _West. _Unfortunately, the fates didn't believe in making demigods' lives easy. Malcolm must have noticed my expression.

"I-I could be wrong, maybe it's just a minor Greek goddess, and-"

"Just finish. Please."

Malcolm nervously brushed his blond hair. "Right. So I was researching the other countries he visited. Looking for music, you see. And well..." He made the weird choking sound again.

"Malcolm!" I raised my arms, as if to strangle him, and he took several steps back.

"Indian." He squeaked.

I had a strange urge to imitate Malcolm's wheeze. "Goddess?"

"Major goddess." Malcolm looked slightly green. "I don't know why she's here, but if it's something so bad that a freaking _different hemisphere_ got involved, I don't like out chances."

I blinked a few times, processing what he'd said. Something worse than the Titans? Wow.

I hadn't ever thought of the possibility of other gods. It seemed stupid now. If the Greeks existed, why not the others? It was a weird thought though. What if there were others like us in some other countries? Not the west, where the Olympians and their entourage had been bouncing around for aeons; but the east.

Was it a different sun god that drove the chariot in the east? Was it even a chariot? Maybe the god himself flew across the sky in their myths. I didn't know. I hadn't spared much space in my mind for anything besides Greek mythology.

"Are you sure? I mean c'mon, Sara is a western name, right?"

"It's not actually Sara, I think it's short for-" He stopped short, his eyes widening to twice their size, his mouth hanging open in shock. His gaze was fixed on something behind me.

I didn't want to turn. Chances were, I wouldn't like whatever or whoever was behind me.

I turned.

Framed dramatically against the faint light from the dining pavilion was Sara, her white dress fluttering slightly in the breeze. Her face was so shadowed I couldn't make out her expression. She took a step towards us, coming up the grass. I instinctively tensed, and wished I hadn't left my weapons in my cabin. Not that weapons would do any good against an immortal who could zap you into something with more legs than you preferred.

Malcolm stuttered something. I wasn't paying attention. Surely she wouldn't hurt us? Not in the Greek gods' realm, right? Right? I silently began praying to my dad, hoping he hadn't gone to bed or something. Behind me, Malcolm was doing the same, his lips moving soundlessly.

Sara covered the remaining distance in a few steps and turned her head up. She was a head shorter than both of us, but somehow exuded the same aura of power Lady Artemis did. Her expression however, was not as cold. In fact, it was quite blank.

"Child." She said. The word was from the mouth of someone much, much older than I could even fathom. I didn't know how she did it, but the single syllable held the weight of the world within its confines.

"Yes?" Malcolm and I both obediently replied.

"Wisdom's child?" She elaborated, one of her eyebrows raising. It was as if she was questioning his worthiness to that title.

"Y-yes."

"I do not think so."

"O-o-kay." Malcolm looked like he wanted to wet himself.

For a second, Sara seemed annoyed. In that second, I caught a glimpse of someone who had to enough power to destroy everyone within a mile radius and possibly clean up the mess left behind, all with no more effort than it took me to blink. An ancient deity.

And then she was amiable again, and even chuckled. Poor Malcolm looked like he wanted to die. I hoped he wouldn't get his wish.

"Do not worry. It comes with age." Sara conceded. Then she turned to me.

I probably looked like Malcolm now.

"Yeah?" I asked, aiming for a nonchalant tone, but achieving a rather mousy one.

"You wish to know my name so badly, I will tell you."

Her accent had gotten stronger, and I found her choice of words strange, like her calm expression was masking some inner turmoil. That didn't sound like good news for me.

"No, it's ok, really!" I tried. "I was stupid, no wisdom and all. Comes with age, like you said."

"Curiosity mustn't be suppressed from fear."

"That's fine, we're not curious!" Malcolm volunteered. He looked longingly at the dining pavilion.

She took a breath, and fixed us with her dark eyes. "I am Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and the arts."


End file.
